The present invention relates to agricultural machinery and particularly pertains to a movable, conveyor-type apparatus for unloading corn and other farm product material from a silo or similar structure, and transferring the corn and other material to some type of adjacent container or receptacle.
Among the many chores involved in the occupation of farming, perhaps none is more burdensome and time-consuming than manually unloading corn and other farm product material, by using a shovel or spade, from a silo or simliar structure into an adjacent container or receptacle. A number of different conveyor-type apparatuses have been invented to relieve the farmer of this time-consuming physical drudgery, thus allowing his engagement in more productive activities.
The prior art reveals a number of different conveyor-type apparatuses for unloading and transferring corn and like material from a silo or similar structure into an adjacent container or receptacle. Typical of such apparatus is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,049 wherein an unloading apparatus has an auger attachment that is horizontally inserted through the silo wall and into the cavity of an inverted elongated U-shaped metal tunnel, whereby the operation of the auger attachment moves corn through the tunnel to an upwardly-inclined tubular structure, and, from there, the corn is discharged into a truck, wagon, or similar receptacle.
Another such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,575 which utilizes a belt-type conveyor wherein an endless belt is attached to a pair of end rollers, one roller defining an upper reach and one roller defining a lower reach, and an interconnected drive system to rotatably drive the end rollers. In addition, the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,575 can be altered from a horizontal to an upwardly-inclined position without requiring additional elements to maintain belt support or tension.
Although each of the devices disclosed in the aforementioned art has specific features beneficial for unloading corn and the like from silos or similar structures and thereby relieving farmers of an onerous task, there remains a need for a movable corn unloading apparatus that is safe, simple to maintain, relatively inexpensive to construct, and usable with silos and similar structures having various dimensions.